Priority is claimed to related Taiwanese patent application 90201007, filed on Jan. 18, 2001, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to exercise equipment for home use, and more particularly to home use exercise equipment allowing exercise motions in substantially any plane of motion.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, there has been considerable emphasis on marketing exercise equipment that allows for an integrated approach to fitness. Such integrated exercise equipment allows a user to exercise multiple muscle groups using the same piece of equipment, and may support toning and range-of-motion exercises, rather than traditional strengthening or muscle building.
In particular, a type of exercise based upon a combination of yoga and dance movements has become popular. This type of exercise focuses almost entirely on a user""s muscle tone and range-of-motion, emphasizing circular movements of the body and limbs during exercise. A variety of specialized exercise equipment has been developed to support these types of circular, free-form exercise movements. U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,586 to Horvath, for example, discloses an exercise apparatus that has resistive rotors as a primary component. These rotors provide resistance for circular movements in a variety of planes.
The apparatus of Horvath has been developed for professional environments, such as gyms and exercise studios. In professional settings, the Horvath apparatus typically includes a tower structure having a directional pulley system that allows the user to exert force against the resistive elements in the tower in arbitrary planes of motion. When a tower is used, the bench and rotor assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,586 is spaced some distance away from the tower while the user performs exercises. The force exerted by the user against the resistive elements in the tower tends to tip the tower in a forward direction, toward the user and the bench. This tipping force can be significant, as resistive elements or directional pulleys are often placed at the top of the tower and the bench is usually spaced at a relatively large distance from the tower.
The tower and bench are typically prevented from tipping by placing heavy counterweights to oppose the tipping force, or by providing the tower structure with large, heavy feet which add stability. Additionally, the tower usually uses free weights as resistive elements, and the weight provided by these free weights increases the stability of the tower.
The need to provide such a large, heavy tower in order to ensure stability has hindered efforts to successfully market the Horvath apparatus, which has thus far been used only by very specialized exercise studios. While a large, heavy piece of equipment may be acceptable for very specialized studios, which typically focus their business on that piece of equipment, such equipment is usually unacceptable to less specialized exercise studios and gyms, which must accommodate a variety of exercise equipment.
Additionally, people are most inclined to engage in a particular type of exercise if a version of the necessary exercise apparatus is available for home use. Typically, home use exercise equipment must be designed so that it is lightweight and storable, since the home user may not have a dedicated area for fitness, and may need to move the equipment and store it between exercise sessions. The size and weight of the typical Horvath apparatus precludes the average home user from owning one, because it is not especially portable and is relatively difficult to store.
Therefore, a relatively lightweight, storable version of the Horvath apparatus is needed. Such an apparatus would allow the Horvath exercise method and apparatus to reach nearly untapped consumer markets.
The present invention is a lightweight, portable exerciser. The exerciser comprises a frame assembly including a base structure and an upright structure fixed to the base structure and extending upwardly therefrom. The base structure has downwardly facing surfaces for engaging an upwardly facing surface to support the frame structure thereon. The base structure extends forwardly of the upright structure so that the upright structure cannot be tipped over forwardly except by the entire frame being tipped forwardly about the forward end of the base acting as a fulcrum.
The upright structure includes a pair of flexible exercising pull lines carried by the upright structure at an upper end portion thereof so as to extend downwardly and forwardly therefrom. Each of the pull lines has interconnecting structures configured to be interconnected by a user either with the user""s hands or the user""s feet.
The upright structure also carries an extensible and retractable spring system. The spring system is operatively connected to the pull lines so as to resiliently resist movement of the pull lines in a direction downwardly and forwardly from the upper end portion of the upright structure.
The exerciser also includes a bench assembly configured and positioned to support a user in a prone, supine or sitting position thereon so as to enable the user so positioned to interconnect with said user interconnecting structure and pull said pull lines downwardly and forwardly against the resilient resistance of the spring system. The resistance provided by the spring system provides the user with exercise while creating a force on the upper end portion of the upright structure. The force tends to tip the upright structure forwardly about the fulcrum provided by the forward end of the base structure.
The bench assembly includes a bench frame and a bench pad mounted on the bench frame for movement between a raised operative user supporting position spaced above the bench frame and a lowered operative position disposed adjacent to the bench frame. The bench frame includes an inner end portion which has a load transmitting connection with the base structure and an outer end portion extending forwardly beyond the forward end of the base structure. The outer end portion has downwardly facing surfaces for engaging the upwardly facing horizontal surface engaged by the downwardly facing surfaces of the base structure.
The load transmitting connection between the bench frame and the base structure is partitioned when the bench pad is within the raised or lowered operative position thereof so as to transmit a portion of the load defined by the weight of a user supported on the bench pad to the base structure at a position spaced inwardly of the forward end to provide additional tipping resistance. The load transmitting connection is also constructed and arranged to allow the bench frame and bench pad, when the lowered position, to be moved into a connected storage position wherein the bench pad and bench frame are upright alongside the upright structure.
Another aspect of the present invention is embodied in an exerciser having the features described above but without a load-transmitting connection between the bench frame and the base structure.